Neuromedicine

Neuromedicine research in the Department of Pediatrics goes from molecule to cell to organ to organism and from bench to bedside and back again. Molecular studies of neurotrophin and neurotransmitter receptors, neurometabolic substrates, and developmentally relevant proteins underlie the search for biomarkers of and novel therapeutic approaches to developmental disease of the nervous system. Cell biologic studies have uncovered mechanisms of AIDS encephalopathy and developmental origins of Alzheimer disease. Brain and nervous system function studies have allowed development of a severity scale for the neurodegenerative disorder, Batten’s disease, and have enhanced our understanding of movement disorders in children. And clinical drug trials promise to improve the quality of life of patients with AIDS, Tourette syndrome, Batten’s disease, and neuroblastoma.